IBM on Friday announced 20-qubit and 50-qubit quantum processors for its IBM Q early-access commercial systems. The 20-qubit processor — featuring improvements in superconducting qubit design, connectivity and packaging — has coherence times of 90 microseconds, which allows high-fidelity quantum operations, IBM said. The 50-qubit processor is an operational prototype. It expands upon the 20-qubit architecture and has similar performance metrics. IBM will offer these quantum processors as a service.

IBM has announced IBM Cloud Private, a software platform that allows enterprise customers to run applications and store critical data in an on-premises, private cloud environment. The new service employs a Kubernetes-based container architecture that supports both Docker containers and Cloud Foundry. IBM also introduced new container-optimized versions of core enterprise software. Companies in heavily regulated industries like finance and healthcare have embraced private clouds as they plan their transitions to public cloud environments.

IBM and the US Air Force are teaming up to build a massive supercomputer. The new system should be capable of processing data more like the human brain does, while simultaneously pairing that capability with more conventional CPUs.

IBM and Nvidia have collaborated to develop a new software suite for Power microprocessors and Nvidia GPUs. Dubbed PowerAI, it’s meant to allow for much faster deep learning and faster problem solving.

IBM on Tuesday announced that it will incorporate its IBM Watson cognitive capabilities into the MobileFirst for iOS ecosystem to help boost the productivity of the global workforce. It was a little more than two years ago that the company entered a groundbreaking partnership with Apple to enhance the mobile enterprise space. IBM executives positioned the move as part of an overall rollout of enhancements to IBM Watson technology, which uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to support human interactions.

IBM on Thursday announced that it has agreed to buy Bluewolf, a Salesforce system integrator. It reportedly will pay $200 million. Bluewolf will provide cloud consulting and implementation capabilities as part of IBM Global Business Services’ Interactive Experience practice. The aim is to deliver differentiated, cloud-based, consumer-grade experiences. The deal, scheduled to close in Q2, will position IBM for both midmarket and enterprise clients in the Salesforce professional services industry, which is pegged at $111 billion, IBM said.

IBM on Monday announced cloud-focused deals with VMware and Apple at its InterConnect conference. The strategic partnership with VMware would facilitate IBM’s positioning in the hybrid cloud services territory and help the company grow its cloud service offerings, according to IBM. Enterprises that use VMware technologies will be able to run services on 45 IBM Cloud data centers around the world in a seamless manner, IBM said. Services include preconfigured VMware SDDC environments — VMware vSphere, NSX and Virtual SAN on the IBM Cloud.

IBM Watson Health on Thursday announced plans to acquire Truven Health Analytics for $2.6 billion. The acquisition will give the company access to about 300 million patient files, according to IBM, making it one of the world’s largest holders of diverse health-related information. One of its chief objectives is to use the data to bring more value to healthcare recipients. By integrating Truven’s extensive cloud-based data sets, Watson will be able to create insights that can be translated into practical solutions for patients.

IBM on Tuesday introduced the z13s, a mainframe computer system optimized for hybrid cloud deployment. The z13s is designed to provide advanced cryptography for mid-sized firms that need a high level of data protection. The advanced cryptography includes built-in hardware security features that effectively double the speed of data encryption and decryption over prior generations of computers without compromising overall performance of the system, the company said.